Manchester City return to Champions League action on Tuesday when they host Bayer Leverkusen at the Etihad, and honestly, they’ll just be hoping to steady themselves after that disappointing defeat to Newcastle United.
Pep Guardiola’s team has been a bit up and down this season, not really finding the sort of rhythm you would usually expect from them. Still, their European form has shown some sparks recently, especially in that 4–1 victory over Dortmund, as reported by Softfootball.
The club posted photos of their players training in preparation for the game against Leverkusen via their official X account.
View the post below:
Manchester City face Leverkusen without Rodri, who continues to be ruled out due to injury. They’ve picked up ten points from four matches in the Champions League, so things aren’t bad at all, but it feels like they need a convincing display here, something to push away the doubts creeping in from recent league form.
Leverkusen arrive with quite a bit of confidence from their domestic form; five wins in their last six games paints a clear picture. But their Champions League campaign hasn’t quite followed the same script, with only one win so far. And with the long injury list they’re dragging into Manchester, they know the challenge is huge. Still, Leverkusen have surprised bigger teams before, so they’re not showing up just to make up the numbers.
Team News
Rodri and Mateo Kovacic are still out, which obviously affects how City controls the middle of the pitch. Guardiola is likely to keep his usual 4-1-4-1, even if the balance isn’t perfect without Rodri.
Leverkusen have a seriously stretched squad. Lucas Vázquez, Alejandro Grimaldo, Ezequiel Fernandez, and Axel Tape are all injured. Robert Andrich is suspended, and Jonas Hofmann, Exequiel Palacios, and Alejo Sarco can’t play in the Champions League due to registration rules.
Possible Lineups
Manchester City (4-1-4-1)
Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Gonzalez; Doku, Reijnders, Foden, Savinho; Haaland
Bayer Leverkusen (3-4-2-1)
Flekken; Quansah, Bade, Tapsoba; Arthur, Garcia, Maza, Belocian; Poku, Echeverri; Kofane
Softfootball’s Prediction
Manchester City 3–1 Bayer Leverkusen
